Written by The 30th Anniversary Working Committee, The New Sudan Vision (NSV), www.newsudanvision.com

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Commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Lost Boys & Girls’ Journey to Ethiopia

---Courage, Hope, Resilience---

Dear Friends,

OMAHA- This year marks a very crucial milestone in the lives of Lost Boys & Girls of South Sudan. It will be 30 years this Fall since a group of young, un-accompanied Sudanese children first banded together in 1987 and trekked to Ethiopia to seek refuge. This was the start of a mass exodus as the north-south Civil War culminated in the displacement of civilians all over South Sudan.

Eventually, those who made it to Ethiopia would be resettled in three refugee camps: Pinyudo, Itang and Dima, while the rest later went to Polataka, Borongoli, and Moli Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camps inside South Sudan. In 1992, all those who were in Ethiopia along with some of these children in IDPs camps were taken to Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, before being granted the opportunity to come to the United States in 2000 and 2001. Some went to Canada and Australia.

So, to mark this important milestone, the Lost Boys in Nebraska met in Omaha on February 5, 2017 to discuss a preliminary proposal for the Celebration and Commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the 1987 Journey to Ethiopia. The proposal was well-received following a short deliberation and a 9- member taskforce was formed to begin further consultation as well as the process of celebration.

The committee is pleased to announce that it has completed its consultation and a general meeting is scheduled for Saturday, June 17, 2017, at 2:00 pm., in Omaha, NE. The venue will be at Messiah Lutheran Church. There, at that meeting, final resolution, including key details about the celebration, such as funding and the budget, venue/date/time, as well as the overall planning and invitation of V.I.P.s will be presented and adopted by the members.

The primary objectives of the 30th Anniversary Commemoration are as follows:

To come together in a spirit of brotherhood to reflect on the lessons and the legacy of this long, storied journey, including looking ahead to what the future holds for this generation;

To show and/or share in gratitude amongst ourselves and with the world, because of all the amazing acts of kindness and generosity shown to South Sudanese over the years;

To pay tribute by remembering and honoring the memory of those who were lost along the way;

To highlight and celebrate the Lost Boys & Girls’ achievements and contributions to the global refugee stories amid journeys of tremendous courage and resiliency of human spirit.

Please, stay tuned and remember to visit www.newsudanvision.com, our media partner, for we will be bringing you updates, as well as all the commemorative articles and/or essays on the 30th Anniversary Commemoration of the Lost Boys & Girls’ Journey of Courage, Hope and Resiliency.